When Nature’s Web Unravels: The Looming Functional Meltdown of Earth’s Ecosystems

Rennell Fantail

07-10-2025

Kingfisher is one of deep knowledge and meticulous planning.
It is just the crack of dawn when he is seen perching atop a tree. With his impeccable ability to control the flight speed, such as when to slow down or when to speed up, he could calculate at ease the optimal way to catch fish.
Added his experience in dealing with the fish in the pond, he could tell from afar which one was big, small, nimble, or leaden.

In “The Perfect Plan”; Wild Wise Weird [1]

© Kerin Gedge

A new global study published in Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation warns that the world’s ecosystems may be approaching a state of “functional meltdown”—a collapse in their ability to maintain stability and essential life-supporting processes due to the ongoing wave of species extinctions. Conducted by José F. González-Maya, I. Mauricio Vela-Vargas, and Gerardo Ceballos, the research offers one of the most comprehensive assessments of how the loss of threatened mammal species undermines ecosystem functioning across global ecoregions [2].

The authors analyzed data from 3,554 mammal species distributed across the world’s ecoregions, focusing on “functional diversity”—the variety of ecological roles species perform, such as pollination, seed dispersal, or predation [3,4]. Their findings are stark. Over 65% ofthe total functional diversity in Asia, Europe, and the Americas depends on species currently threatened with extinction. In practical terms, this means that ecosystems in these regions rely heavily on species that may soon vanish, leaving them fragile and vulnerable to cascading failures.

The study reveals significant geographic variation. Ecoregions in eastern Asia, northern South America, and Europe are especially dependent on threatened species, while ecosystems in southern Africa show relatively lower vulnerability. This unevenness suggests that certain biomes—particularly tropical forests and tundra—could experience rapid functional collapse, disrupting nutrient cycles, water regulation, and carbon storage essential to global climate stability.

Beyond ecological implications, the paper carries profound social meaning. The biological annihilation now underway will inevitably affect human livelihoods, food systems, and even geopolitical stability [5]. A higher collective NQ is, therefore, needed to foster empathy toward other life forms, leading to decisions that safeguard ecosystem functionality and, by extension, promote inner and social peace [6,7].

Understanding that peace begins with ecological balance, this study reminds us that protecting species diversity is not only a matter of conserving wildlife—it is about preserving the very processes that sustain civilization [8]. Restoring and nurturing our NQ, both individually and institutionally, may thus be the most critical pathway to prevent ecological and societal collapse.

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] González-Maya JF, Vela-Vargas MI, Ceballos G. (2025). Ecosystem functional meltdown through biological annihilation in the world’s ecoregions. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 23, 157-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2025.05.002

[3] Cadotte MW, Carscadden K, Mirotchnick N. (2011). Beyond species: functional diversity and the maintenance of ecological processes and services. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48, 1079-1087. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02048.x

[4] Mayfield MM, et al. (2010). What does species richness tell us about functional trait diversity? Predictions and evidence for responses of species and functional trait diversity to land-use change. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19, 423-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00532.x

[5] Armsworth PR, et al. (2007). Sanjayan Ecosystem-service science and the way forward for conservation. Conservation Biology, 21, 1383-1384. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00821.x

[6] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH. (2025). On Nature Quotient. Pacific Conservation Biology, 31, PC25028. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25028

[7] Nguyen MH, Ho MT, La VP. (2025). On “An” (安): Inner peace through uncertainty, nature quotient, and harmony with Dao. http://books.google.com/books/about?id=NIKMEQAAQBAJ

[8] Nguyen MH. (2024). How can satirical fables offer us a vision for sustainability? Visions for Sustainability, 23(11267), 323-328. https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/11267